Apollo High School in running for Governor's physical fitness award
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers TAKING ON THE GOVERNATOR- Apollo High School student Lacey Walker, 16, of Simi Valley works on her upper arms in the weight room after school on Monday. The school has opened the gymnasium during lunch and the weight room after school to assist students in meeting the "Governor's Challenge," a program encouraging student fitness by requiring participants to be active 30-60 minutes per day, at least three days per week, for one month.

Apollo High School students are proving their commitment to physical fitness doesn't stop when the final bell of gym class rings.

The school recently won first place among high schools in its region in the Governor's Challenge Competition, a fitness contest that asks students to participate in physical activities outside of PE classes for at least 30 minutes three times a week for four weeks.

Apollo was the top high school in the Gold Coast Region, which includes Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. As the victor, the high school received a check for $1,000, which was presented by representatives from Longs Drug Stores on Feb. 19.

Apollo principal Tracy Rohlfing said she'd like to use the money to build an outdoor basketball court or to refurbish older equipment in the school's weight room.

The Governor's Challenge is put on by the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, an organization that promotes physical activity for all state residents, with a focus on youth.

Apollo is now aspiring to win a Regional Award at the next level, which means competing against all elementary, middle and high schools in the Gold Coast Region. (There are 11 such regions in the state and thus 11 awards at this level.)

The regional prize is $5,000, which will pay for physical activity equipment. The winner is the school that attains the highest percentage of students and teachers exercising three times a week for four weeks.

As of Feb. 20, Apollo school is in second place in the region, with 65 percent of its students completing the challenge. Balboa Middle School in Ventura is currently in first place. The deadline for the Regional Award challenge is April 30.

The grand prize in the competition for the most fit K-12 school in all of California- to be announced in September- is a brand new fitness center.

Office manager Karen Smith, who oversees the program at Apollo, said the school encourages students to work out by opening its gym and weight room for 30 minutes after school ends.

"Anyone who walks or rides a bike or does anything, it counts as one activity a week," Smith said. "If someone normally does two activities a week, we're asking them to push it to three."